Forced Magic by Jerod Lollar

handle them, no problem. If only my brother had been there to
see. He left too soon. At the thought of my brother I stopped. My brother
didn’t know who I was. It wasn’t that he didn’t recognize me. He said that he
didn’t have a brother. The seriousness of the whole situation came rushing back
to me. There were forces working here that I had no control over. I needed
answers. Where was this wizard?
    I looked around me. The park was quiet, dark and kind of
eerie. I wasn’t sure if this was the best idea, but, considering everything that
happened, the idea of talking to someone who might be able to explain this
craziness to me was a risk, at this point, that I was willing to take. I had a
million questions about everything from the dragon to why my brother didn’t
remember me. I felt depressed. “What am I going to do?” I said out loud.
    The dragon had been staring at me again.  It seemed to sense
my mood change.  It reached into the bag and tossed a taco at me. I caught it
and began unwrapping it. I decided to take this opportunity to ask some
questions. I needed a distraction from thinking about my brother. I just didn’t
know where to start.
    “Do you have a name?”  I asked, as the dragon started eating
tacos again.
    It gave me a sideways glance. It had an annoyed look on its
face as I realized how stupid the question was. The dragon was still new to the
world no matter how smart it was. I sat there for a moment.
    ”Do you want a name?”
    This question seemed to surprise the dragon. It stopped
chewing and stared across the pond, its amazing eyes rapidly changing color.
Finally the eyes went back to green. Slowly it nodded its head 'yes'. It wanted
a name.  The dragon got up and stood in front of me. I had its undivided
attention now. Its tail was moving back and forth. I knew I had to do this right.
One mistake, one bad name and I was sure I would get smacked again with that
tail.
    ”OK, I guess what we have to think about is what is a good
name for a dragon.”
    The tail twitched slightly then went back to swaying gently.
    “You’re not a pet, so Spot or Fido is out.”
    The tail swayed.
    “Even though you did fetch those green things pretty well.”
    The tail swung at my face, I closed my eyes flinching for
the smack that never came. I opened my eyes. The dragon was looking at me with
a thoughtful look on its face. Something I had said got its attention.
    “What? What did I say?”
    Something I said had caught the dragon’s attention. What was
it? Was it a clue to what it wanted to be called?
    ”Green?”
    The tail twitched. I flinched again. I pushed the tail away
and got up.
    “Look you stupid lizard. This is getting us nowhere. If you
expect me to sit here, with the threat of being hit by your tail, as I try to
guess what name you want, you are crazy. If it ain’t green, then what? Fetch?”
    The dragon nodded its head.
    "Fetch?” I repeated, ”But that’s ridiculous that’s not
a….” 
    “Fetch.”  I thought.  Looking at the dragon, it
seemed to fit. It was a good name, Fetch.
    “Ok, Fetch, that’s now your name.”
    The dragon’s eyes turned blue for a second and its silver
scales glowed. Fetch’s eyes went back to green and its tail twitched excitedly.
It was great to see this dragon so happy. Fetch looked like a little kid who
had just got news of a trip to a favorite amusement park. I had to smile a
little.  
    “Ok," I said. “On to the next question. Are you a boy
or a girl?"
    I fell to the ground as the tail swung around and knocked me
flat. I jumped up, my face stinging where the tail had hit me.
    “What did you do that for?” I said, “How am I supposed to
know the difference between a male and female dragon?”
    Fetch swung his tail around again, but this time, I was
ready for it. I jumped back. The tail swung by missing my head by inches.
    “This isn’t helping me learn, dragon.”
    Fetch stood there, muscles taut, ready to jump on me. I was
ready for it,